31 August 2015

It's been about a year (ish) since I've been on the NuvaRing. Here are my observations.

I like it. Mostly.

The biggest issue I have is that I sometimes forget about it and I can't remember when it's time to remove it/put in a new one. Which usually results in a panic that sends me to my calendar to remember when I last put it in. NOT ideal. I initially set up a reminder on my phone-- incorrectly-- and I missed my reminder by a week one time. That was panicky and I took a few pregnancy tests because I didn't get my period. But then I got my period. Whew. Birth control schedule is nothing to mess around with. I do not like the potential for forgetfulness.

To help with that, I set up a new reminder on my phone, and I also signed up for auto-refills at the pharmacy. This way at least I get a text message to remind me my prescription has been refilled and it's kind of a backup reminder if I messed up my phone reminder again. Not ideal, but it's better.

My initial concerns, addressed:

I was initially annoyed when my doctor didn't give me enough refills so that I could use them to skip my period. After the uncertainty regarding the schedule, it turns out I really like having my
period as reassurance. It's usually very light and only lasts from
Friday night to Sunday night. Don't have to worry about taking tampons to work. For now.

He also did not give me the extra samples he promised. In hindsight this is a good thing because they require refrigeration and are stable at room temperature for 3 months. The scientist in me noticed that. I can see it now. Hey, dad. Go grab a beer. Never mind the birth control stored in the fridge. Besides, with Obamacare, it's free so the samples really aren't necessary. And, as I mentioned before, the auto-refill text message from the pharmacy is nice as a backup reminder.

It's never accidentally fallen out, even though I still sometimes get paranoid that I will somehow push it out when I poop. Hasn't happened. For the record.

I've gotten used to the insertion and removal. It's still awkward and
uncomfortable, but it's not so bad now. I like that Chris can't feel it.
I like that I don't have to take a pill every day, plus the side
effects are minimal, except libido and sensation are diminished, as with
all hormonal methods I've tried. Merp. But, what can you do? It's the
price you pay for no babies.

I figure after I hit 35 my chances for a blood clot/stroke will rise and since my aunt just had a stroke from that exact reason, I will need to look for a hormone-free option. I will probably be really, really sure I don't want kids at that point and the doctor will feel comfortable with tying my tubes or using that Essure method, or some other non-hormonal form of birth control. We'll see what happens with that.

So there you have it. I will probably stick with this method for now not because it's perfect, but because it's the least of all the evils!

24 August 2015

23 August 2015

The past few weeks have been interesting. May be seeing some major changes around here if things don't turn around, or if the grass actually ends up being greener on the other side.
Because, due to recent events, I finally got motivated. Like, slap me in the face how-dare-you kind of motivated. In fact, the whole entire department has developed the same attitude, which should be interesting. In fact, we've already lost 1 of the new people we just hired.
Hey, man. We're not joking. You really can't treat us like that.

You know, stuff like that. Which leaves me in super-anxiety mode, which is always fun.

We went to Ikea twice this weekend. After I slept in on Saturday until 11am. That's the kind of weekend it was.

16 August 2015

I don't know what happened. I bought these at the same time, put them in the same place, gave them the same amount of water. One is thriving, the other went Poof and dried up in like a day. I'm sorry little rose bush on the right! I hope you survive!

This is the unfortunate state of my craft room. Full of racing stuff and man stuff. Which means pretty much no crafts until the man room is done. Motivation to get it done-- Mama's gotta craft!

Because... here is a picture of the guest/man room before we bought the house: (yes, that's a lot of holes in the wall)

Here is a picture after we moved in and plopped a bed in there...

And here's how it looks now.

I was very skeptical of the color initially, but Chris insisted and I'm glad he did. It looks pretty cool, and I think with the right decor, it will end up being a really cool room. I've been looking at pinterest for color inspiration.

Spent a good part of my morning running errands, including a trip to the dollar store to hopefully find k-cup storage solutions. I didn't find one, but of course it's the dollar store so I managed to find a few things. ;o) I might need to suck it up, brave the Galleria traffic one day, go to the Container Store, be done with it and move on to another project. Ooh, or maybe Ikea has something. I need to do some more research. Or maybe I could build something custom. Because Chris doesn't get nervous at ALL when I use his tools.

15 August 2015

-Edamame and cupcakes from Trader Joe's today after an epic Garden Ridge trip. Except I haven't tried the edamame yet and the frosting on the cupcakes melted in the heat. They were still delicious, even if the sugar was too much. I've definitely noticed a decreased tolerance for sugar again lately. I'm counting that as a good thing.

-The last room in the house is painted!!! Horraaahhhh!!! It only took a year and a half to repaint every single room in the house. Even though the guest/man room is nowhere near being complete, at least that part is done. I forget how sore I get after painting. Also I feel really productive and I'm surprised at how good it looks since I was initially super skeptical about the bright blue color he chose. I think it will end up looking really great. Pictures if I feel like it.

-I got really pissed at Chris today because of, basically, his habit of cleaning off his desk by shoving random papers in drawers. Including my defensive driving paperwork, which I need to finish the course and show back up at court. After about 20 minutes of furious, diligent digging, I found them shoved in a random drawer alongside old lottery tickets and gas receipts. That is not where important papers go. Toot.

-I haven't had wine in about a week, because last week I felt sick on and off, with a rotating combination of a fever, headache, and stomach ache. Today I started my period and ironically because those random ails decided to leave town for the day, it's the best I've felt all week! I also bought 5 bottles of wine because Trader Joe's has a ridiculously large selection of good cheap wine. I haven't had any yet because I really wanted to paint straight lines, but the possibilities of a full wine rack are endless!

-It is nearly midnight and I've probably wound down enough to get ready for bed.

10 August 2015

Woke up this morning with a funny stomach and a headache. I considered calling in sick but I didn't feel pukey so I went. It got worse as the day went on and I started feeling achey so when I got home I took my temperature.
Bingo. Fever. I knew I didn't feel well but it hsppens enough that sometimes I think I'm being a hypochondriac.

Trying a bit of chicken soup and after a shower I might feel better. I'm hoping this is the worst of it and tomorrow when I wake up I'll be better.

09 August 2015

I am grateful that I am fortunate enough to have a sister within a short driving distance that will let me hang out at her house all day because I'm lonely at mine. Who face-times my other sister so we can be loud and obnoxious and gloriously connected and inadvertent wake up my brother-in-law. Who keeps gluten free bread in her freezer and microwave mac & cheese in her pantry. Who shares her chocolate. Who changes up her dinner routine to include the GF-est option she planned for the week. That is love, people.

I'm grateful I have a nephew who, even with his 2-year-old attitude, makes me laugh and doesn't mind too much yet when Aunt Nen grabs him for a snuggle. The way he's growing into a little person blows my mind and it's so fun to watch him learn.

I'm grateful for a husband who I love enough to miss when he's gone and who buys me fresh fruit at the farmer's market on the way home even though there's lots of traffic.
Oddly enough, I'm grateful for the dog, because I promised Chris I'd play with her when he was gone. She miraculously made me feel like coming home to an empty house is not quite so empty. Even though she smells and sheds and does other dog-things.

I love that Chris randomly found his lost wedding ring today, and that I found mini roses on sale for $2 a pot, and that Calvin decided to use my phone's voice-activated Google to search Big Rocket Ships and Little Einsteins about 50 million times. Impressed at the toddler-talk translation that google managed to pick up. Hilarity at the mis-interpretations it managed to pick up along the way. I'm sure I'm on some FBI watch list now.

Not so thrilled that tomorrow is Monday and this weekend went by way too fast and it's back to another week of work. But maybe I should also be grateful for that.

07 August 2015

I'm lonely and sad. Which is odd.
Normally I'd be thrilled at the chance for some of this rare "me" time. I'd have plans to make the most of it, do some crafts, play silly music on the tv music channels, go shopping, etc.

I think the psychological aspect of dropping him off at the airport has something to do with it. Every other time I've done that, it's to send him off to war, or deployment, or for an extended period of time. This time it was only for a measly few days, but that same sense of emptiness is here.

If he had woken up early and driven off for the weekend, it would have felt different. I had almost forgotten this feeling, and I don't like it showing up now.
Maybe nap will do the trick. I didn't sleep much/well last night and being tired always magnifies negative emotions. Maybe I'll wake up ambitious and renewed.

04 August 2015

03 August 2015

I haven't talked about my beauty routine lately. It's fun to record it and see how it evolves.

When we last spoke about it, I had stopped using all products for fear they would irritate my skin after the rash episode. No creams, makeup, nothing. Now, after help from the dermatologist, the rash is gone but I'm still very cautious of what I put on my face. So far, things are calming down and honestly for the first time in my life my skin is really clear. I'll get a bump here and there but if I don't mess with it, they usually go away.

Cleanser: Cetaphil. Every week on Sunday I add a bit of baking soda to gently exfoliate. Like I said zits aren't really a problem, but blackheads on my nose continuously mock me.

Moisturizer: I used Simple Day/Night Cream for a while until I ran out, and I loved it. It's really light and feels good. However, I really like wearing an SPF during the day so the dermatologist recommended Cetaphil Oil Control with SPF. I used to wear this a while back and loved it, so I had no problem going back.
(At night, I'm using the Simple Rich Moisturizer because it was on sale. I like it, but it's a bit heavy for the summertime. When I run out I'll go back to using the Day/Night Cream.)

Treatments: I'm still using the prescription Ovace cream from the original rash treatment on the spot if I get a zit. It's really thick and forms kind of a waxy coating over the skin after you rub it in and it works great.

Makeup: As far as makeup goes, I don't feel like I have to wear it as much anymore now that my skin is less zitty. My skin tone is still a bit uneven, but honestly with the summer heat everything would slide right off anyway. I might dust a bit of Chanel Double Perfection over my face because I will forever love that stuff, or spot-conceal a zit but that's about it. Standard drugstore mascara, nothing fancy.

Lip Color: Generally I don't wear lip color. I've tried over the years to get into it, but it's just not me. That being said, I pulled out a Tarte Lip Stain Pencil that I got in a birchbox long ago, and I have been wearing it almost daily. It makes me look refreshed and put together and I swear it's the perfect color for summer. I will probably buy more when it runs out.

02 August 2015

-Contacts. New Rx, more comfortable. Also got new frames which is huge bc that hasn't happened in a very long time.

-Curtains. Got tired of looking at the grungy hardware on the dining room blinds so I put up curtains. Pretty, but maybe too pretty. I like a shabby chic country vibe but these may be too much for me. I might end up putting the curtains back in the kitchen, and installing some pretty molding like this. Normally the set of blinds comes with something similar, but these came with the house and didn't have any. Hence my problem.

Not so new things:

-The electric bill has been high (duh) and to hopefully save a few bucks and give the old A/C unit a bit of a rest, we programmed the thermostat a few degrees higher. I definitely notice it. Especially when I come home and try to cook dinner and I literally start sweating in the kitchen. Hence the boycott on kitchen applianceslately.

-The stress level at work has also been high lately, leading to anxious dreams, including dreams about my teeth falling out. Always a sign that things need to chill TF out. This summer has been especially rough and I need a vacation so damn bad. Not a day off. A vacation. I'm not sure I can hold off until January's potential trip to tropical paradise.

-Tummy is finally starting to calm itself after last week's glutening. Although the accompanying canker sore decided to hang around for a while. Fortunately, I've found that warm salt water helps a bit.

It's bound to be another busy week, and Chris is in his finals week of summer school/ preparing for a big camping trip, so here we go.